We're also giving away a copy of Tom Clancy's The Division to one lucky commenter! Simply leave a reply and join the discussion for a chance to win.

Every week, I give my take on some of the biggest Xbox news, rumors and talking points in one handy post every weekend. You can also rely on this weekly column to catch up with all the latest game releases.

Microsoft shutters Fable Legends, Project Knoxville

The biggest news of the past week is the fact that Microsoft closed down Danish studio, Press Play, and U.K.-based Lionhead Studios. Lionhead is, of course, famed for the Fable RPG series. The studio was previously led by Peter Molyneux, who became a little notorious for overpromising and underdelivering. Press Play is perhaps best known for Max: The Curse of Brotherhood, which was among the first games launched for Xbox One's Games with Gold program. Windows Central readers may know the studio for its unique Windows Phone titles Max and the Magic Marker, Tentacles: Enter the Mind, and Enter the Dolphin.

Both Press Play and Lionhead had been working on relatively experimental titles for Microsoft Studios. Press Play were building Project Knoxville, a cutthroat multiplayer survival game inspired by The Hunger Games, and Lionhead were working a 4v1 free-to-play spinoff of the Fable franchise, Fable Legends.

I played both Fable Legends and Project Knoxville in early stages of their development. The Knoxville client I played was little more than a prototype, having been the chosen concept from a choice of three as part of the game's open development campaign. Fable Legends was a little different. Even back at Gamescom, Fable Legends felt well realized, with stunning design and enjoyable combat.

Microsoft base a lot of their decisions on telemetry data, and in mid-February, Fable Legends sent me a survey to request feedback on my experiences with its closed beta, which included questions on whether I had been enjoying various aspects of the game. To me, it seems possible that Microsoft pulled the game based on engagement stats gleaned from Fable Legends' closed beta — certainly not a knee-jerk reaction they took lightly. Legends was always going to be a hard sell with the core crowd, some of whom reacted quite negatively to its free-to-play nature.

It's hard to say how well Project Knoxville would've fared out in the wild, but at least, where Fable is concerned, I feel as though the post-Molyneux Lionhead were never given the chance to help the quirky RPG franchise achieve its full potential. UK law dictates that companies go through a 30-day consultation period before closing, which could be why Lionhead reappeared on the Microsoft Studios website after the initial announcement. There's always the chance that Lionhead could retrofit Fable Legends' delicious DX12 art assets into a more traditional title, but there's been little indication of that happening. It's looking pretty bleak. I'll leave you with this comment from Phil Spencer on the matter:

"I really wish every game we started ended successfully. Regretfully doesn't always happen. I'm sad as well, I love Fable."

Either way, I think we can unite in wishing Press Play, Lionhead and everyone affected by the cuts all the best in the future.

CD Projekt RED reveal impressive financials, future roadmap

RPG superheroes CD Projekt RED have given us a bit of insight into just how well the company has done following their runaway success, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. In 2014, the company posted revenues of $25 million, a comparatively small figure in the world of AAA games. Last year was a game changer for the studio, which has now revealed revenues of $200 million, with almost $90 million in profit.

All of this is a result of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which for me represents the best game of this generation so far. CD Projekt RED's ambitious and dark fantasy RPG has won hundreds of awards, many of which include 2015 Game of the Year. CD Projekt RED revealed that The Witcher series has now sold 20 million units to date, as well as some of the studio's plans moving forward.

This year, CD Projekt RED will release the second expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Blood and Wine, set to add an entirely new area to the game. The Polish studio will also launch a separate game, in a game format they've "previously unexplored." Could it be VR? Standalone Hearthstone competitor based on Gwent from The Witcher 3? Plenty of possibilities there.

The company's strategy document also lists a somewhat vague 2017-2021 launch window for their upcoming sci-fi RPG, Cyberpunk 2077, another AAA title, with additional media content and product lines for their existing franchises (which so far, only includes The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077).

A Dualshockers source offered further insights into CD Projekt RED's plans, owing to comments made by Studio Head Adam Badowski. He stated that Cyberpunk 2077, about which we have little information, is "even better, even bigger, even more revolutionary" than its original concept, which he hopes will be a "truly outstanding game."

CD Projekt RED's full financial report can be read right here, and contains additional information about how the studio plan to expand its PC game distribution platform, GOG.com, and loads of awesome pie charts.

The Division's Year One content plans, Far Cry Primal dominates February sales

Despite the slowing down of the Assassin's Creed franchise and talks of a hostile Vivendi take over, Ubisoft have a few reasons to celebrate — at least for the time being. Far Cry Primal took the crown as February's most popular title in the U.S., and The Division has been a huge success story for Ubisoft thus far, becoming the fastest-selling title in the studio's history.

I'll be posting my early impressions of The Division at the start of next week, but I'm more than happy to recommend the game to fans of strategic cover shooters, loot-'em-ups like Borderlands and Diablo, and RPG shooters like Destiny and Mass Effect. If you've yet to pick up the game and are interested, you can check out the first 3 hours on our Twitch channel over here.

As a connected shooter with an "end game" that persists after the story is finished, Ubisoft is looking to keep the game fresh with regular content drops. Some of these will be in the form of paid DLC expansions, either sold separately or as part of the game's season pass, but others will be included in free updates. The first free update will add Incursions to the game, which should form the basis of the game's high level "raid" content, providing squad-focussed activities for greater loot. The trailer above provided further insights.

Have you been playing The Division? What do you think so far? Hit the comments!

Recently, Psyonix teased a basketball-like mode in an image posted on Twitter. It'll be interesting to see if the developer needs to rein in Rocket League's chaotic physics to make basketball work well, as shooting the ball into a hoop will potentially require a lot more precision than bashing it into a traditional goal. We'll have to wait and see!

Giveaway – Tom Clancy's The Division for Xbox One

This week, it's only natural to give away a copy of Tom Clancy's The Division. Ubisoft's connected shooter has already shattered various sales records, becoming the studio's fastest selling game to date. Taking place in a ruined New York City, The Division follows a player-created Strategic Homeland Division agent on a mission to restore order and unravel the mystery of what caused the pandemic that toppled civilization. Join the discussion in the comments for a totally random chance to win!

New Xbox One game releases for the week ending March 13th, 2016

"Blast Bunnies and collect coins to upgrade your weapons. Can you defend your burrow from their onslaught? Pick them off using a carrot rifle, pelt their furry hides with the watermelon pip machine gun or wreak havoc with the runner bean laser."

"Polarity City is under threat: the Bloxbots have gone rogue! Usually rather stupid, Polarity City's favourite maintenance cubes have suddenly become dangerous. Far from fixing things, the Bloxbots are destroying everything in sight... and why do they even HAVE lasers, anyway?"

"There is a world beyond ours. Beyond nations, justice, ethics. It never sleeps. It exists everywhere. And once you enter....there is no going back. Welcome to the World of Assassination. You are Agent 47, the world's ultimate assassin."

"New-York City, today. An unprecedented pandemic has struck the city during the fever of Black Friday. One by one, basic services fail. In only days, without food or water, society collapses into chaos."

"The classic arcade game is back in a supercharged version! For beginners or veterans, Tetraminos offers an easy-to-learn, limitless challenge."

And that's a wrap!

I continue to be saddened by the situation over at Microsoft Studios, but it seems to be the reality of AAA game development at that level. Activision, EA, and other major publishers cancel projects and close down studios on a regular basis, but it's quite rare to see one as legendary and beloved as Lionhead up on the chopping block. Hopefully, we'll get more good news to balance out the bad in the run up to Build, GDC, and E3.

What have you guys been playing this week? What do you think of this week's Xbox One news?

Reader comments

Im a fan of Fable, however Fable Legends was not going to be like any fable released. Loinnhead Studios was'nt sure what to make of it, and just like any great game in the making, time and money are limited. Thank you Microsoft for not pouring out consumer dollars into something that might have been a disaster.

Really sad to hear about Lionhead and Press Play. Lots of people out of work, and that sucks. I always thought Press Play got less fame then they deserved, and was getting really hyped for Project Knoxville. It had potential...

Really sad news about Lionhead. I loved the Fable games, and Fable 3 remains to this date the only game that my wife has sat down and played co-op with me from start to finish. There really was nothing else quite like it, and a proper Fable 4 would have been an instant purchase.

The Division continues to impress in the streams I've watched on Twitch, and they seem to have a clear idea of where they're going with it. It's just a shame that by the time I get round to buying it most of my friends will have moved on to something else :(

Legends had visuals, thats all. Gameplay was enjoyable at the first couple matches but then way too limited and repetitive. Art style was great. I played the last days of the beta. Matchmaking took too long and villains were always controlled by bots. Few ppl wanted to play as villain, I think one of major problems of the game. It failed on a key component to make the game works. I can understand MS decision on this matter.

I've so glad The Division managed to meet the all the hype and build up it managed to generate. This is very good for the gaming industry. I'm reading alot of good comments online about the game and I'm definitely seeing some of the 'this is what Destiny should've been' comments too. I hope Quantum Break leaves that positive impression too.

Honestly pretty bummed out about Fable Legends. It looked really good and had me interested since day one trailers. Oh well... What can we do? And I've been playing Halo 5 after i beat the campaign mode. It's been awesome! Also, having played The Division in Beta i gotta say, this game has me hyped! I would love to win this :)

I do find it strange that Microsoft decided to close down those Studios and games, but as Phil said, not every game that comes out is successful or even makes it to market, shame about Fable Legends though, it looked like a good game which has been quite heavily invested in!!!!
I think the Division looks pretty good, I played the Beta and was quite impressed although some said it's a little repetitive, I quite enjoyed it!!!! And I know there is a Season pass, but glad to hear they are releasing free content as well!!!!
I'm really excited about GOW4, I'm a big fan of the franchise and happy that they have started to release their games on PC, that way I can play it on PC at 60FPS & in 4K!!!! I would love for Microsoft to carry on their buy once policy they adopted for Quantum Break and give you a PC copy if you buy it on Xbox One!!!! Because I love my Xbox, but also have a gaming PC!!! P.S. I'm so Hyped about Quantum Break, from the graphics to the television series!!!!
I hope they pick up some more amazing Franchises like Quantum Break, because it's stuff like that which makes you happy you choose Xbox One, I really feel Xbox captured the market last year with it's franchise Halo 5 and this year it's Quantum Break or Gears of War, I know people might disagree with me, but that's my my opinion!!!!
Thanks for the Game Round up Guys, who needs a Gaming Magazine, when we got this!!! :p

Still waiting for Quantum Break to launch and really looking forward to the "get a PC copy when you buy the Xbox One version" promotion. Wish more games would take that route. Will have to check out The Division to see if it's engaging enough, you certainly listed it as being recommended based on some other heavy hitters.

Still disappointed about Fable and Lionhead... Was in the closed beta and was thoroughly enjoying it, seemed near completion to me. Unfortunate that the general public will never get to play.
Moving on, Rocket League is AWESOME and I'm looking forward to new content! Division looks great, too!

In my opinion fable legends went away from what I remember fable to be. I played the beta/demo and it seemed geared to a lot younger of a crowd that i used to remember. But then again maybe I have no idea what Im talking about

I've been loving The Division. While Destiny was fun, it was a bit of a let down, since I feel like I was just staring at loading screens all the time, since you had to keep flying to planets to get to missions, and I didn't feel any reason to really explore. That, and there was basically no story. Again, it was fun to play, but I was disappointed. This is just my opinion, of course.
The Division, however, is more like what I wanted Destiny to be. Both good games, it's just more my type of game.

I'm happy to hear about CD Projekt Red's success. I'm looking forward to more information on Cyberpunk 2077 and as always, Gears of War 4. I don't own The Division but would be very appreciative if I won a copy.

I have been playing Gears of War 2 now that old 360 games work on the One! I did not think a Fable game would be cancelled, but it seemed like it would break from Fables of the past and that may have hurt it and the series in the long run.

The division looks great, I actually had it pre ordered until a friend played the beta and said it was really not fun and you had to do alot of run here then run here. Then he buys the game and tells me how amazing it is lol.

I still can't believe that Lionhead is closing. Especially since fable legends looked near complete. It is also strange to me since the game was one of the first with cross play. This would've been an incentive to download it through the windows store which isn't Microsoft trying to push right now?

Although I admit Gears 4 looks absolutely stunning, I can't help but wonder if it'll fall into the trap that Halo 5 did. Halo was also meant to be showcase for Xbox technology but it ended up being less of the game we imagined it would be. Admittedly the multiplayer is fun but didn't people once buy this for story as well? We want games not showcases, that's what benchmarks are for. We haven't seen Coalition do a full sized game and 343's first full sized game was quite revolutionary (IMO) and is reflected even today. I'm hoping that's exactly the case here. If it isn't, my hopes aren't high for Crackdown 3.

I'm excited to play Ori again. The game is absolutely beautiful, the story hits you square in the heart, and the gameplay is tough but not impossible. Always loved metroidvania style games. I've never liked any Tom Clancy games but The Division really has me interested.

Press Play's closure is so disappointing, and so surprising. I don't get it. All they ever did was make amazing games. Max: The Curse of Brotherhood was the best puzzle platformer of 2013, and Kalimba was the best puzzle platformer of 2014. I get that those games didn't light up the sales charts, but they were small-budget games with no marketing. They were critically lauded and really well put together, clearly demonstrating that Press Play was staffed by talented developers. It looked like they were finally getting the chance to make a larger game with a bigger budget in Project Knoxville and Microsoft just cans them. Not good. When you're a software company, you need--badly need--talented developers and programmers. You don't do that by firing them. Not only does that cost you the talented employees you spent resources grooming over the past several years, but it also scares off other future wizkid developers who won't want to work for you.